8 JAN 2008 We clean up our act

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I start by bidding a sad farewell to Army Major Andrew Olmsted. He was killed by a sniper in Iraq on 3 JAN. Before he died, he entrusted a friend with his final blog post to be published posthumously. You don't have to read long before you realize that our great nation is eternally in the debt of troops like him who risk and sometimes lose their lives in their faithful service. As he asks that his life not be used by anyone to make a point, I'll say no more, but let his words speak for themselves.

Here at the hospital we have been told that we are too M*A*S*H-like. I took it to be a high compliment. If we could come close to the level of tireless function and teamwork displayed in that movie and TV show, I would think that the hospital would be running quite well. But the comment was raised as a criticism, in someones skewed view of the universe. Apparently, there have been distinguished visitors that have seen an Army hospital, and then have come to see our house. Their comment was that the Army facility seemed to be regimented and squared away, where we were a little more colorful. I think that because we are so intense in our efforts to save lives, we have less time and inclination to make the place seem like a spic and span, to the letter military institution. We spend a little more time checking patients' vital signs then we do starching our uniforms."
Made a Diffrerence